Commander in the Free Syrian Army: The difference between the Free Syrian Army, the YPG and IS is that their fighters are killed everywhere and their leaders are safe. While our leaders die on the front lines.

The entire territory of Syria must be “liberated,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov also claims that Assad needs to stay in power to prevent the country from 'falling into the hands of jihadis': “There are just two options: Assad sitting in Damascus or the Nusra sitting in Damascus,” Peskov said.

The National Defence Forces claim that it is alongside the Syrian Arab Army addressing the attacks by the IS within the vicinity of eastern Homs with the clashes still continuing and air support and artillery being used to try and push back IS from advancing.